How to Establish an Athletic Drug Testing Policy

This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013.

There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

Under federal law, you can test student-athletes for drugs. If you want to implement an athletic drug testing policy, then you should talk to a lawyer about whether or not your state allows it. Some states might severely restrict when you can test student athletes. An effective policy will identify which students you will test and how often you will test them.

Meet with a lawyer. Although federal law allows student-athletes to be drug tested, your state constitution might not.[1] In some states, such as Pennsylvania, the state’s Supreme Court has said that schools can require drug tests only if there is a showing of specific need.[2]

There is no easy way to find out your state’s law without seeing an attorney. It is difficult for non-lawyers to find court opinions, but a lawyer can find that information quite easily.

A lawyer will be helpful in other ways. For example, the lawyer can look over your draft policy and offer suggestions.

You can get a referral by contacting your state or local bar association. Once you have a referral, call the lawyer and schedule a consultation.

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Identify which substances you will test for. Before you can begin testing for drugs, you need to identify which drugs you will test for. Any athletic organization you belong to might specify which drugs you have to test for.

If you are designing a collegiate-level drug testing policy, then you need to adhere to your collegiate association’s requirements. The NCAA, for example, has a list of banned substances you must test for. Your athletic director can get this information from the NCAA.[3]

If you are a high school, then your athletic conference might have a list of banned substances. Contact your conference.

If your athletic conference does not require that you test for certain drugs, then you will need to come up with a list on your own. It is common to test for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, PCP, and opioids like heroin and prescription pain relievers. You could also test for alcohol and steroids.[4]

Determine who you will test for drugs. Before drafting your drug testing policy, you need to decide which student athletes you will test. Typically, you can test the following:[5]

An entire athletic team. This is the most comprehensive testing, although it can be the most expensive, depending on the size of the team. You can test at the very beginning of the season, as a precautionary measure to catch anyone who is doing drugs.

Random sampling of a limited number of athletes. This type of sampling can act as a deterrent for the entire team. Because any athlete could potentially be tested, there is an incentive not to use drugs in the first place.

Any athlete you reasonably suspect has done drugs. If a student is arrested for drug possession, then you would have reasonable suspicion to ask the student to take a drug test.

Decide how often you will test for drugs. You also need to decide how often you will test. You need to consider the costs of extensive testing versus the deterrent effect of the tests. Teams usually test in the following manner:

Periodically. Periodic, unannounced testing is a good way to deter drug use. You may select five male athletes and five female athletes during each random testing period.[6]

At the start of the season. You might want to test the entire team before the start of the season, in order to weed out people with drug or alcohol addictions.

Before letting an athlete back on the team. If someone has been suspended for drug use, then you might require a test before you welcome them back.

At regular intervals, if the student has had at least one positive drug test. As a condition for letting someone back on the team, you could test them regularly.

Discuss the consequences of a positive drug test. You also need to decide what will happen to the student if he or she tests positive. You will need to include this information in your written drug testing policy, so you might as well decide beforehand what consequences the student will face. Remember, the purpose of drug testing isn’t merely to “punish” students for doing drugs. Instead, you want to get them the help they need.

You can have a “multi-strike” policy. For example, after the first violation, you can suspend the student-athlete for a portion of the season (e.g. 20%) and recommend that he or she meet with a drug counselor.

After the second violation, you could suspend the student from a larger portion of the season (e.g., 50%). You could also require the student to undergo weekly or random drug testing for the rest of the season.

After the third violation, you could permanently bar the student from participating for the remainder of the season.

Alternately, you could also simply have a “one-strike” policy and end the student’s participation in athletics for the remainder of the season.

Determine who will handle the urine sample. You need to designate someone to collect the urine sample and keep it safe until it is taken to the tester. Typically, you should have a man and a woman serve as monitors.[7]

You also need to establish a chain of custody. Come up with a protocol for labelling the test sample. For example, the monitor who collects it can write the student identification number on the specimen container. Then the monitor can give the sample to the other monitor. The second monitor will write the student identification number in a log. You can store the urine samples in a refrigerator in a locked room until testing.

If you are delivering a sample to a lab, then come up with procedures for delivering it to the lab. For example, you might have a monitor take samples to the lab and have the lab sign a document that they received the sample from you. In this way, you create a chain of custody.

Choose who will administer the test. You won’t be able to implement a drug testing program for free. Accordingly, you will need to discuss who will perform the testing and also budget for that purpose. On average, a student drug test can cost $10-30 per specimen.[8]

For example, you could purchase FDA-approved drug testing kits and perform on-site testing. If you get a positive result using an on-site kit, then you should send the sample to a lab to confirm the positive result.

Alternately, you could send all samples to the lab to be tested. This would be the more expensive option.

At the lab, a Medical Review Officer will review the results and contact the school administrator to confirm a positive result.

State your purpose for adopting the policy. You should begin your written drug testing policy by explaining why it has been adopted. Your reasons may differ. However, it is a good idea to emphasize at the beginning of the document that you are testing students in order to protect their health and safety. You should also mention that the testing is meant to identify drug users so that you can get them help.

For example, you could state, “The Board of Education is dedicated to ensuring the health and safety of students. The Board recognizes the district’s role in protecting students from the dangers of illegal drug use and abuse. To support our substance abuse prevention efforts, the Board establishes a mandatory and random drug testing program for students participating in athletics. The testing program should provide a deterrent from drug use. It will also help identify current drug users and refer them to appropriate counseling and rehabilitative services.”

Describe your sampling procedure. You should explain to the students how you will decide who to test. A description of your sampling procedure is particularly important if you are testing people at random. For example, you will want to explain that the selection will be done anonymously.

Sample language might read: “At intervals chosen by the administration throughout the school year, five male and five female athletes will be selected on a random basis. To ensure anonymity, each student will be given an identification number at the beginning of the school year. A computer program will then select five male and five female student identification numbers at random. Only the student and athletic director will know the identity behind the number.”[9]

Describe the collection process. You need to give the student some idea of what will happen if he or she is selected to give a sample. Tell them how much time they have to give the sample. Also explain who will collect it.

You might state, “On the day the numbers are drawn, those students selected will be notified. They must promptly report to the designated place to produce a urine sample. They will be given a sample collector and provided a private bathroom stall where they can produce the urine sample. An adult monitor of the same gender will collect the sample once the student is finished.”[10]

Describe what happens to test results. You should also tell students how you will handle test results. You want students to know that you are properly protecting their confidentiality. For example, you might destroy records at the end of the school year. You might also tell students that you won’t report them to law enforcement if they fail.

You might write, “The administrator of the test will be authorized to report results only to the school administration. Test results will be destroyed after one calendar year after the last day of the activity season, except with respect to students who have tested positive.”[11]

“The district shall not release test results to law enforcement authorities.”

Explain the consequences of failing the drug test. You need to let athletes know what will happen if they fail the drug test. Explain in detail your policy, including expectations of receiving drug counseling.

Use bolded letters and underlining to bring home the consequences of failing a drug test. You don’t want students to claim that they had no idea about the consequences.

State the consequences of refusing to cooperate. Athletes may try to avoid taking the drug test. You should treat the refusal as a failure. Accordingly, you should explain to the student that any refusal to give a urine sample will count as a “positive” drug test.

One school uses the following language: “Failure of the student-athlete to cooperate with the testing policy shall be the equivalent of a ‘positive’ test result. That is to say, failure to appear for the testing process, failure to produce a test sample, or attempting to alter or destroy the test sample shall be treated as a ‘positive’ test result.”

Distribute copies of your testing policy to students. You should make sure that student athletes receive the drug testing policy in written form as soon as they express an interest in participating in sports. Make multiple copies and write down the names of students you give it to.

Have students sign a consent form. You should get signed consent forms from students. Make sure that they read the entire drug testing policy and ask each student if he or she has any questions. After their questions are answered, they can sign the consent form.

If signing the consent form is a condition for participating in sports, let the students know.

If you are testing high school students, then you should have parents or guardians sign the consent form as well.[12]

Sample language on the consent form could read: “We recognize that the school district is committed to protecting its students from substance abuse. For this reason, we hereby agree to accept and abide by the standards, policies, and regulations set forth in this drug testing policy. We authorize the school district to conduct random drug testing of our child’s urine specimens for drugs and/or alcohol use.”

Coordinate with counselors. Some students might fail the drug test. Accordingly, you need to help the student deal with his or her drug abuse. You should begin gathering the names of substance abuse counselors you can use as referrals.

Pull your school’s guidance counselor in on discussions. They should gather names of substance abuse counselors in the community. Your counselors can perform an initial assessment but then refer the student to someone outside the school.

About This Article

This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013.